Biotechnology company CereDx is developing medical tests to enable doctors to quickly detect whether a patient has had a stroke. Quick diagnoses and emergency treatment can greatly improve a stroke victim’s chances to survive and recover.
Stroke is the fifth leading cause of death in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Currently, doctors have no simple test to diagnose when or whether a patient has suffered a stroke. Emergency personnel or physicians rely on physical exams, blood tests and neuroimaging.
Morgantown-based CereDx is developing a point-of-care-tool that measures the presence of a panel biomarkers for stroke. The test gives medical personnel a fast and accurate diagnosis of whether the patient had a stroke, what kind of stroke and how long before the onset of symptoms stroke occurred.
CereDx is preparing its precision diagnostic for clinical trials, aided by an investment of $500,000 from the West Virginia Capital Access Program (WVCAP). The investment combines funds from West Virginia Jobs Investment Trust and INNOVA Commercial Group.
The company currently employs two people. Two additional jobs are expected to be created as a result of the WVCAP investment.
INNOVA is a venture development and early-stage investment program, an initiative of the West Virginia High Technology Consortium Foundation. The West Virginia Jobs Investment Trust is the state’s venture capital fund created to develop the state’s economy by making investment funds available to eligible businesses. The West Virginia Jobs Investment Trust administers the federally funded WVCAP program to help the state’s small business get the credit they need to grow.
